LoginSuchatvee Suwansawat, Change Engineer, Change Manager, the dream of ‘Smart City’ must come true.
Suchatvee Suwansawat, Change Engineer, Change Manager, the dream of ‘Smart City’ must come true.
His life looks wonderful; he can get success at young age, at the age of 37 he has been the first professor on underground construction and tunnel. He is the engineer discovering theory of tunnel construction using artificial intelligence with academical reference index at 1 of 5 in this field.
He used to be the president of The Engineering Institute of Thailand Under H.M The King’s Patronage at the youngest age. He is the founder of the Committee of Young Engineers of Thailand and also acts more positions.
He comments that such positions compared to such young age is not strange, especially that of other country.
Prof.Dr. Suchatvee Suwansawat, the president of KMITL, Brother Ae of KMITL’s students.
He graduated Bachelor of Civil Engineer, KMITL, master degrees in Policy and Technology, Wisconsin Madison University, master degrees in Policy and Technology, MIT, and Doctoral Degree in Civil Engineering and Environment, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
At the age of 45, the has started the position of the president of Council of University Presidents of Thailand, and the acting position of the president of The Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning: ASAIHL.
On his prominent success, he told that his life was not begin with smooth way; he faced both failure of university entrance and being almost retired.
He was a single child born in Rayong in the teacher family who always supported their child to love to learn. They always took him to interesting events took place in Bangkok by taking bus from Rayong to Bangkok.
He is the smart student together with being the athlete and activity lover since younger age. After finishing Mathayom 3, he went to Bangkok to take examination in higher level at Triumdomsuksa School to respond his parents’ expectation, however, he failed.
“… Before the day of examination report, my father takes a bus from Rayong to Triumudomsuksa School in the evening. He stands at the fence of school waiting for janitor to post the result at midnight to be shown in the next morning. When the janitor posts the post, my father asks him for mercy to check my name on the post. The janitor walks away to check it and shows 5 fingers up. My father misunderstands that I can pass the exam. The janitor comes back to him and tells that your child fails. My father then asks for rechecking and the same upset result is told. My father backs home almost in the morning, cries of being upset because he hopes that famous school must be helpful for his child’s success in life. I also feels really sad that I make my parents upset because of myself…”
Even someone offered them tricky help to help me able to learn in such School, my parents never agree with “If life begins with false, the future of unwholesomeness must go on”. They then let me further the study at the same school.
He studied Engineering Degree at KMITL through the quota of the suburban smart student project (Suburban White Elephant Project), he was the activity lover, the president of the student till furthering study aboard. He could success in research works and went back to Thailand to be instructor and academic administrator, and the designer of underground tunnel for the Bangkok Mass Transit System: BTS.
“…Today, fighting spirit is too small for Thai people. We should not be inferior to that of Malasian, and Singaporian. Fighting spirit is the major key to social change and to world change…”
Have ever almost being retired from university?
When having studied at KMITL, he always over joined campus activities, and athlete activities with carelessness of his classes. In the first term he got the GPA of 2.75, he felt good as if he were the great hero of the class. His friends said that even had no high attention in the class, he could pass the course. In the second one, it became harder, however, he still behaved the same habbit. Normally, the GPA would be shown infront of the Registration Building. it shown D, D+, and C and became worse because GPA less than 2 must lead to be retired. His friends always comforted him to be calm and wanted him to stay longer for being their friends, however, the last GPA would not be issued yet, that one must be really interesting for his student life.
At his time at KMITL, Ajarn or instructor Peerasuk Worasunthorn was the dean. He was the dean of wide vision and needed his students to have leadership. Every Thursday, he would let freshies attend the Meeting Hall to listen to useful talks from invited success people from government section, instructors, and businesses one to activate inspiration of life. Smart friends would sit doing mathematic homework while the worse ones would sit sleeping. He really loved such events; egered to know how to success and he would sit listening with high attention till the event off.
It appeared that for such the class, the exam was about handing in summarization of all individual talks. He could summary on 2 full answer sheets for such exam and got A making his grade stay at 2.0 finally; he could survive longer.
At that time his father moved to Chonburi, he took a bus to back home. There was no mobile at that time. His father would wait for him at the bus station from dust till dawn to take him home. His father told him that he took volunteer students to help working at Wat and the abbot forecasted that his child would get bachelor degree of honor award. He reacted that never being retired must be better than ever.
He could remember such feeling for just a short moment. Later on, he could never get below 3.7 – 3.8; he returned to be student of high concentration in the classes and could get the first rank in the class of civil engineering, and finally, having furthered studying aboard and could achieve Phd. from MIT, USA. (MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
The initial turning point to pay attention in studying about subway at MIT?
He had the dream to change the look of Thailand and of city. Once when he was a child when Thailand had discovered natural gas around Thai Gulf, Rayong port, his father went to work and took journal of National Furtilization Company to him. The first page of the journal shown the picture of good-looking man having age of about 50 with his shown finger of golden ring on the table. He told his father that someday he must learn at the same school that man did. That man achieved Phd. from MIT, Dr. Chao Na Silwan, past Privy Councilor. His father told him that if Ae paid high attention in the classes, Ae must win the goal, however, his father might think that it must be to far to go for such the suburban boy.
When finished the degrees from KMITL, the dream about MIT became glorious again, however, MIT seldom admitted Thai students and actually would admit only those of famous universities, at that his time, KMITL was not so really famous for public as it is in present time.
To have official achievement at KMITL, special project must be done. Students of Computer Course must complete programming project, Telecommunication one must produce communication radio, Civil one must break concrete and make mixture of concrete debris and rice husk or editing computer program. However, such the things would be never enough for the World Ranked University admission.
He asked his 2 friends to join the project of designing for the first Subway line of Thailand since the time of no BTS, KMITL’s library of no such information. They had to take a bus to photocopy related text books at AIT, Rangsit, because there were many related ones for such field of engineering at that time. Sush the copies must be helpful for designing and for computer programming for simulation of the desired subway model.
On the class, only his thesis could get A, however, it was no use if it never was practically applied. He took a bus to The Giant Swing, Bangkok, to meet the Bangkok Governor and had to go many times for 2 weeks before able to meet him. His secretary asked him to take the dean to meet with too.
To meet the dean was easier than to meet the Bangkok Governor, because he actually was the students’ president. When he told his dean that he would like to take the dean to meeth the Bangkok Governor, he dropped his pen and doubtfully said that doing the project of the 4th year for traffic jam solving? however, he could meet the Bangkok Governor, finally.
The dean told the Bangkok Governor that his students had designed the model for first Bangkok subway to give to the Bangkok Governor, Mr. Krissada Arunwong Na Ayuthaya said thank you, he was thinking about what kinds of it to be constructed, sky train or subway? He was afraid that the Bangkok Governor might stop conversation then he told the Bangkok Governor that subway was really needed but in Thailand no one achieved such the field and he voluntary asked for going to study more in subway engineering and must be the first student studying in this field. The absolutely told that very good and should go but where? He felt good and said to the Bangkok Governor that he would go to the same place the Bangkok Governor achieved. He investigated about the Bangkok Governor’s profile and knew that the Bangkok Governor successed Architecture at MIT. Telling the Bangkok Governor such his old campus, he could have longer conversation with the Bangkok Governor. Finally, he said that he could be admitted if the Bangkok Governor provided the suitable letter of recommendation. The Bangkok Governor actually was a teacher, then he gave him a mercy for such the recommendation.
Not only the letter of recommendation, but more crucial things must be considered?
Studying in the world ranked universities in USA was not depended on only the GPA, and English language skill. He achieved honor award degree for the last person of KMITL because he used to behave unsuitable way of learning to success for a while when he lived his freshy life, he had to take 14 times of TOEFL examinations, however, he could pass the final official score of 600,finally.
He met his solution to special admission for the fact that the MIT admission committee liked the contenst of application he wrote. For his learning range in Thailand, he always took the bus to school for 2 hours, in the morning and after the school, having taken the bus, he looked at the traffic around. In the former time, Thailand was ever the land of Smile, but for the present time it disappeared completely, because of pollution, terrible traffic condition, people of uncomfortable emotion. As the duty of the KMITl’s students’ president, and the student of Civil Engineering, he preferred doing practical solution to such the unpleasing situation. He asked his special friends to cooperate the project of the first subway designing of Bangkok to be promising mega key for the mass transition of Bangkok to reduce individual car using in the traffic. Having finished such the practice, he offerred the work to the Bangkok Governor to be applied for. He told the Bangkok Governor that MIT had many successful alumnus and alumnae, he just asked for only little thing, to learn construction of subway engineering to provide subway to Bangkok and brought faces of smile back.
He was only one student studying Engineering in that year and miracle came to him; from failure of Triumudomsuksa admission, almost being retired from KMItl, 14 hard times to pass the effective TOEFL score, such only little child at that time able to meet the Bangkok Governor by spending 2 weeks before being able to meet the Bangkok Governor, being brave to take the dean to meet the Bangkok Governor. Such actions were considered ashameful and hardly being told to others. Such things hard to be told to others that he was not smart yet. But now, he really would like to tell the world about his achievement, it was not being born to be great or ready but to be the one of brave heart.
“…Today, fighting spirit is too small for Thai people. We should not be inferior to that of Malasian, and Singaporian. Fighting spirit is the major key to social change and to world change…”
Giving the importance to the Change?
Having studied at KMITL, he focused on the creative change. Now KMITL has processed the MOU to Carnegie Mellon, the world ranked university of IT competency, to have the IT compettiton with that of Singapore for 2 years, and we can win finally, the Carnegie Mellon can be helpful in industries and researches of Thailand, and the new university profile is named as CMKL, the university of high end technologies specially for Thai not only for KMITL.
Moreover, we have founded KMIDS: King Mongkut’s International Demonstration School and could really get success. It implied that learning in Science, Mathematics, and technologies are substantial. In the courses, proper teachers from MIT-Harvard-Columbia universities are processed for the classes. The learning has been processed for only less than 1 year but it can make the first prize for the world robot contest and able to present the great achievement in the Chemistry Olimpic academical competition.
He needed to make smart people to have effective competency for the world competition events, the leader in the era of world changing must really be smart in Technologies, this must be the success keys.
Modern curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine has been founded?
The Faculty of Medicine is the new prominent course combing with Engineer cooperation. Physicians achieving the degree can be individually effectively processing the research, knowledge creation of new medical technologies. Actually, in any hospital, most of the medical instruments are imported, syringe; Thai only produce rubber glove and other little things or knicknack, if such the things still go on, Thailand must be the commercial slave of foreign industries and many millions of national capital expenditure must be exported absolutely.
Such the international courses must be considered to be the revolution of higher eduction process and the leader newspaper of USA has approved the great honor to KMITL’s to be the one of the universities having highest growth in Asian. Now KMITL is set in the world ranked university and becomes 1 of 5 ranked universities of Thailand; it must be the great success that can be reached by spending only about 2 years.
Making change must totally affect social?
Have you ever wondered… why having traffic pollution forever, why having PM2.5, (Bangkok Air Pollution: Real-time PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI)), why having event of aunt breaking blocking car, or why having big traffic flood waiting for fast drainage.
If asking anyone that Bangkok or city can be changed or not? everyone must respond that it is imposible. Like someone in the past ever insulted that he would never be able to study aboard, but now he absolutely can; today is going on the way of change. Nowadays, technology dependence becomes true.
Last month, it had heavy rain since 5 am resulting in big traffic flood and having big traffic jam for 3-4 hours long. Bangkok Metropolitan always knew well that the heavy rain incident would actually happen at midnight, however, from the corrective checking, some engines for flood drainage had been in failure for running.
Now, meteorological technology at KMITL’s can process weather forecasting 24 hours in advanced around Ladkrabang, Nong Chok, Lat Phrao - urban. If weather forecasting can be got 24 hours in advanced, it can early process emergency signal for the time of machnice checking towards critical places for being ready for flood draining. Now technology of WiFi instrument can be provided, cheap small WiFi access points can be installed on the water pipes to check readiness, such the instrument has been long applied.
If the machines at Nong Chok are not functioning, the ones from Nong Kham can be moved to 24 hours priorly and then having Line Chat to report directors of schools around the areas to properly postpone the classes, have a Line Chat to officers to go later for work for 2 hours or work at home instead. It must be helpful, at least, it can reduce the problem. It must be the way to let them know that they should not be in the terrible traffic at that time. Life is going on its ways, this is the ways of Smart City that must be possible.
KMITL has innovation solution to the problem?
KMITL has founded Smart City Innovation Hubs and Smart Community Hubs and settled discovered technology for the solution to the community problems, such as, traffic jam coming from traffic light operation processed by traffic policeman’s decision. Some moment, only opposite traffic light is running for improper long range while other sides hardly have. Nowadays, new traffic technology can be cheaply applied, smart CTV can be processed the traffic light system automatically; these are the innovation artificial intelligence.
City and community Changing via technology must be needed, any knowledge on the shelf will not the useless one anymore if it ever is applied on the change for the fact that any thing can be changed possibly. These are the things we are practicing and we must make it better.
Readiness of knowledge and technology but having problem of bottleneck governor problems.
Bangkok Metropolitan has managed the problems of flood solutions for more than 10 years and consumed many thousands of million of expense, expensive meteorological system investment; actually, it can be provided with cheaper cost. Technology on the shelf will never helps anyone to live better life.
The word “Smart City” has been long processed, however, only few of people agree with. Smart Traffic Boards are not real smart till many people feel that they are only some kinds of fake action. Truly, Smart City is true not fake, it is under the process. There are many Thai students going to study aboard in world ranked universities and learning in the lab of smart city and technologies. However, when coming back, they never have chance to apply their smartness. We are going to try to settle proper institute concerning about Smart City for the solution to the problems and trying to make it really effective.
Have ever presented to the Government?
We frequently have exhibited the projects, just wait and wait for the effective response. We are ready and want people to believe that our city can be changed by application of smart technology really, and we can prove that it is really possible. We would like to apologize many people that we ever say the word seeming to be unbelievable, but it is really possible, we have the dream to make it true, we should not stay in the terrible traffic 3-4 hours a day, we should not live the very terribe life; unlest the smart technology is applied to the problems. Qulitaive life must return to us, definitely.
What made KMITL have sudden growth?
Fingting spirit and passion can appear in the leaders of positive passion and hope; really want to let the Change happen. When he first acted the president job, someone felt that it must be impossible to found the Faculty of Medicine, the demonstration school, to be ranked in the world ranked university, to be superior to Singapore; everything came true within about 2 years of working. Working or changing must face obstacle and exhausted feeling. Fake giving up can happen but true giving up must not. Some small complaint can be exposed, the coming days of good struggle always are ours, importantly, passion of smart change with brave heart must be at best.
Which one should better be; Engineer or Management?
Never have self looking as mentioned. Ever been told that he was the Game Changer while now the Disruptor: he looks himself as the Developer, working in the Engineering field must be done at best, being instructor must be done at best, being researcher must be done at world ranking, being education management also must be done at best. The Change Creation must lead to the best; that’s himself. In the future when he is in any sector, his identity should be the symbol of The Change, The Mission Possible; the Promise of Better Life.
Is it too over to make the change everywhere?
With smile talking, he said the word of not overdream. It must be true. The time of the University improvement was really hard, and now it becomes improved. Every details for improvement must be investigated, however, with the brave heart of gold and passion to make the perfect possible change; obstacles appeared against; no problem can be solved at a single try; try and try wait for the brave one eagering for triumph; complaint words of terrible traffic, impossibility, organization culture, change mission impossibility have been implanted into the belief, just forgot these words and always thought that everything can be changed to be true, to be corrected, for the fact that, everyone really had the magic powers to drive the implanted energy out; such the things must depend on selves, definitely.
Privately, which research works really are more done?
It was still that of the Smart City for the fact that it must never be dream on the shelf. Turely, it must be the one beneficial for living better life, being helpful for people and it must be the most important issue. These must be the thing being under processing and must be better and more effective.
(VDO at https://youtu.be/iIN7AwY8nnk )
Video Interviewing Presentation…….
Vdo CC:
Prof.Dr. Suchatvee Suwansawat
The President of KMITL, the President of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand
How do you describe the meaning of the word “University”?
For my view, “University” is the hub of knowledge, the hub of creation, the hub of human resource management, because University able to be the ture University must ;
- Have varieties, Maha means great, Vittayalai means faculties; so MahaVittayalai or University must be composed of varieties; varieties of classes, varieties of faculties, varieties of academical branches independence features, then it must initiate from varieties being.
- Such varieties must lead to Knowledges and the Knowledges will be transferred to human, the students, before the graduated students to go out to do the Change, and at last, the Knowledges must be able to Change socials, to Change the World. Such of all the things are the goals of existence of universities in the recent World.
The vision of KMITL to respond the meaning of the university?
King Mongut’s Institue of Technology Ladkrabang or KMITL tries to respond even when comparing to other world ranked universities, KMITL is staying too far to the rank, but the things I mention are the ones of Varieties, now KMITL provides many varieties, such as Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Industrial Education, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Information Technology, Faculty of Administration and Management, Faculty of Architecture; these can respond the view of Varieties truly, Students have their choices to learn in their favorite courses, skillness, and can be applied to their future jobs.
Secondly, educating the students or not…. Yes, it does… now, instructors of qualification are important, instructor evaluation is done to approve that they can teach the students to gain knowledge for the jobs well. Finally, for the said things, the Knowledge in KMITL can really lead to the Change in the world social or not, it is not the way that when finished, KMITL just teaches, it is not the way that when finished, KMITL cannot change anything. Someone insults that it is the project waiting for keeping on the shelf. Today KMITL can prove the response about the University Identity for all such 3 things, truly; Varieties, Human Development, Teaching students to do effective job performance of knowledge. And finally, the issue of the Knowledge Creation to be used for the World Changing and the Social Changing, but for what the level is, we must keep fighting.
In the future the meaning of the word “university” will change from such the mentioned one or not?
I believe that the overall meaning of such the word will not change, if calling it the university, it must maintain the components of varieties, we still keep teaching, keep knowledge improving, however, the ways of action may be varied, the varieties when managing as Faculties, Medicine, Engineering, Science, Architecture, may be changed; boundaries may disappear; Medicine and Engineering may be identical, Architecture and Engineering may be identical, Engineering and Information Technology may be identical, Agriculture and Engineering may be identical: so, boundaries may be disappeared but the Varieties still will be maintained; in the style of more integration according the world changing. For the teaching style, in the past, it was the style of chalk and black board, or for more modern fashion, it becomes that of powerpoint and projector. However, in the future, students may not go to school, they may study online via mobile and maybe they may learn with external instructors of KMITL, maybe, those of Chula, Kasetsart, Thammasart, or even, those of MIT or Harvard, hopefully. For the registration to the courses, maybe, it will not necessary to apply in KMITL’s office, they can do anywhere of the world, whenever completing the course, they will achieve the certificate of achievement. Finally, about the Knowledge for Research, instructors may do research not only in the university’s lab because the World becomes the universal lab already, instructors may have to hang on companies, instructors may have to hang on argricultural farms, instructors may have to hang on space, so, the promising activities may have to be changed but such the mentioned goals must be maintained, I believe that such the things must be the same.
(source:www.matichon.co.th/news/890054)